Chaffetz Lindsey Seminar on the Intersection of International Public and Private Law

March 2014 – Chaffetz Lindsey’s latest European Lawyers Forum took the recent crisis in Ukraine and Crimea as a starting point for a discussion about disputes involving the impact of economic sanctions on the enforceability of private commercial contracts. A panel of sanctions and arbitration practitioners, including Maya Lester of Brick Court Chambers in London, Dr. Barbara Maucher of Eren Lawyers in Washington, DC, and Yasmine Lahlou of Chaffetz Lindsey, offered an overview of economic sanctions regimes in the United States and Europe, including how they are promulgated, their form and scope, and how they are enforced, before considering the impact of sanctions on the enforceability of private contracts. Drawing on their experience, the panelists suggested ways in which parties could avoid the impact of sanctions targeting potential commerical partners, the role of international arbitration in resolving disputes that arise in this context, and the availability of interim relief through emergency arbitrations.

The European Lawyers Forum is a Chaffetz Lindsey initiative to provide lawyers trained in Europe or practicing at European-based firms in New York, with a venue to meet and discuss issues affecting U.S./E.U. commerce and dispute resolution. If you would like information about the Forum, please contact Andy Frischknecht or Yasmine Lahlou.